Man is not free unless government is limited.

The line expresses a core Reaganite (and broader classical liberal/conservative) premise: individual liberty is best protected when the state’s powers are constrained. It assumes that government, by its nature, tends to expand—through regulation, taxation, surveillance, or coercion—and that unchecked expansion crowds out personal choice and civil society. “Limited government” here is not anarchy but constitutional restraint: enumerated powers, separation of powers, and a presumption that most decisions should remain with individuals, families, markets, and local communities. The quote’s significance lies in how it frames freedom not as something granted by the state, but as something endangered by it unless institutional limits are maintained.